The Legacy of Eunice Waymon

On February 21, 1933, in the small town of Tyron, North Carolina, Eunice Kathleen Waymon was brought into the world. Ms. Waymon began to realize her passion for music somewhere around the age of three through learning to play the piano and singing in her church’s choir. The girl’s obvious talent attracted the attention of the woman who would eventually make her into the artist she became. Special funds were set up by her teacher and some other members of Waymon’s community in order to pay for her admission to Juilliard School of Music in New York. Unfortunately, the aspiring performer was unable to keep up with the abrasive payments for school, and thus dropped out soon after her arrival at the college. Temporarily putting classical music on the backburner, Waymon began performing blues and jazz renditions among the night clubs of Atlantic City and decided upon the stage name to which she is commonly referred, Nina Simone.

Simone’s first major hit came in the first album she released. “I Loves You Porgy” made it onto the top 20 charts, finally bringing the ambitious star into public light. Along with this, she popularized cover music, making Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin” and the Beatles “Here Comes The Sun” her own. Within each song she wrote or covered, however, Simone made sure her roots in gospel, folk, and pop were easily identifiable.  In fact, Nina Simone hated to be referred to as a jazz singer, stating in her autobiography, "If I had to be called something, it should have been a folk singer because there was more folk and blues than jazz in my playing.” Simone presented a new prospect in what exactly it meant to be a lyricist. Nonetheless, she was best known for her active stance on the political occurrences of her day.

Nina Simone was already a prominent figure of the Civil Rights Movement by the mid-1960’s. In response to the assassination of Medger Evers and the bombing of a Birmingham church which killed four African-American girls, she wrote “Mississippi Goddam.” This song was a lively, but heartfelt, account of the unfortunate events Simone witnessed unfold. She later wrote “4 Women,” which spoke about four black women and the struggles and realities they were born into.

Ms. Nina Simone was a key proponent of the Civil Rights movement and many other political movements to follow. Today, her impact on the music and entertainment of our time can still be felt. Just within the past two years, Jay-Z released “The Story of OJ,” a song which recognized the unfortunate realities African-Americans currently face residing among today’s social climate. Simone can be heard reciting “4 Women” in the background of this track. Though Nina Simone unfortunately passed on April 21, 2003, her legacy of political questioning and instilling pride into the black community is still relevant today.

Works Cited:

- “Nina Simone.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 24 Jan. 2019, www.biography.com/people/nina-simone-9484532.